DAMIEN’S POINT OF VIEW
“I know her.” The words landed and didn’t echo. They didn’t need to. They sat there between us, solid, undeniable. My body reacted before my mind caught up. A sharp pull in my chest, like something had been grabbed and twisted. I stared at Harry, waiting for him to correct himself, to clarify, to say he meant something else.
“You know her,” I said. My voice sounded wrong to my own ears, stripped of heat, stripped of control. “How.”
He didn’t answer me. He looked at Ava. That alone felt like a slap. Like he’d bypassed me without effort, like I wasn’t even part of the equation. Ava stiffened so hard it was visible, her shoulders locking, her breath catching. I knew that reaction. I’d seen fear in her before. This wasn’t fear. This was recognition.
“Why is she here,
